National bestseller with over 175,000 copies sold! Now completely revised and updated.

If you thought hacking was just about mischief-makers hunched over computers in the basement, think again. As seasoned author Wallace Wang explains, hacking can also mean questioning the status quo, looking for your own truths and never accepting at face value anything authorities say or do.

The completely revised fourth edition of this offbeat, non-technical book examines what hackers do, how they do it, and how you can protect yourself. Written in the same informative, irreverent, and entertaining style that made the first three editions hugely successful, Steal This Computer Book 4.0 will expand your mind and raise your eyebrows. New chapters discuss the hacker mentality, social engineering and lock picking, exploiting P2P file-sharing networks, and how people manipulate search engines and pop-up ads to obtain and use personal information. Wang also takes issue with the media for “hacking” the news and presenting the public with self-serving stories of questionable accuracy. Inside, you’ll discover:

How to manage and fight spam and spyware

How Trojan horse programs and rootkits work and how to defend against them

How hackers steal software and defeat copy-protection mechanisms

How to tell if your machine is being attacked and what you can do to protect it

Where the hackers are, how they probe a target and sneak into a computer, and what they do once they get inside

How corporations use hacker techniques to infect your computer and invade your privacy

How you can lock down your computer to protect your data and your personal information using free programs included on the book’s CD

If you’ve ever logged onto a website, conducted an online transaction, sent or received email, used a networked computer or even watched the evening news, you may have already been tricked, tracked, hacked, and manipulated. As the saying goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. And, as Wallace Wang reveals, they probably are.

Wallace Wang is the author of several best-selling computer books including of the Steal This Computer Book series, Steal This File Sharing Book, The Book of Nero 6, and Visual Basic 2005 Express: Now Playing (all No Starch Press). He is also a successful standup comic who has appeared on A&E’s "Evening at the Improv" and appears regularly at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas.

Table of contents

Part 1: The Early Hackers
Chapter 1: The Hacker Mentality
Chapter 2: The First Hackers: The Phone Phreakers
Chapter 3: Hacking People, Places, and Things

"Since Steal This Computer Book 4.0 hit my desk, a strange thing happened: Almost every person who saw it immediately asked to borrow it. This wasn't just the other office geeks, but some downright technophobes, as well . . . There are good reasons for all the interest."
—Security Management, September 2006 (Read more)

Steal This Computer Book "demonstrates that you can write about computer security in an engaging manner . . . it is as entertaining as it is informative."
—Greater Cleveland PC Users Group, October 20, 2006 (Read more)

"A lot of information is revealed in the Wang book that could be useful for hackers."
—Cybercriminology727 blog, October 6, 2006 (Read more)

"This book has some of the best information about protecting yourself, your family and your computer from illegal or malicious acts perpetrated electronically. It also contains very thoughtful and insightful paragraphs about the use of computers by individuals, groups, corporations and nations. And it is almost as compelling as a good novel."
—Kickstart News, September 2006 (Read more)

"Offers a philosophical book about the implications of hacking."
—SciTech Book News, September 2006 (Read more)

"Highly readable and highly informative. It won't turn you into a hacker. But it will prepare you against being attacked by one and will entertain and delight you along the way."
—IT Wales, August 23, 2006 (Read more)

"A technology classic that is as entertaining and irreverent as it is informative . . . What makes this book the most gripping is . . . the astute philosophical, cultural and historic perspectives that Wang's commentaries provide."
—MacDirectory, Summer/Fall 2006 (Read more)

"An excellent offbeat examination of hacking. . . I found the book fascinating, at times almost addicting."
—MacCompanion, August 2006 (Read more)

Wallace Wang was guest on radio program
—My Computer Show, August 5, 2006 (Download and listen)

"If you've used the computer, you need to know about common tricks and traps, and the latest edition covers them all."
—Midwest Book Review, July 2006 (Read more)

"Rare these days, a real CD is included . . . the book is a surprisingly fun read on a serious topic."
—Business in Vancouver, July 18, 2006 (Read more)

"A terrific guide . . . made enjoyable by the sense that you're seeing how the bad guys operate. But beyond this excitement, the book has immediate value."
—SD Times, July 1, 2006 (Read more)

"Guides us nicely through the computer and internet underworld and as such it's a fairly good guide to a lot of the possible things that can go wrong."
—Mstation, June 30, 2006 (Read more)

"I would recommend it for anyone that wants an entertaining overview of computers and criminals."
—WindowsSecurity.com, June 26, 2006 (Read more)

Wally Wang interviewed on radio show
—Let's Talk Computers, June 10, 2006 (Download and listen)

"It's similar to reading about the seamy underbelly of your local city . . . you know it's there, you don't condone it, but you have a hard time averting your eyes when you drive by."
—Duffbert's Random Musings, June 3, 2006 (Read more)

"With security an everyday concern, No Starch Press has released an updated version of a useful book."
—Minnesota Technology Magazine, May 2006 (Read more)

"Although this book is not for the non-technical small business owner/manager, it could be VERY useful for the IT consultant serving the needs of small businesses and who needs a better understanding of security and the world of hackers."
—Small Business News, May 21, 2006 (Read more)

Wallace Wang was guest on radio show
—TechTalkRadio, April 30, 2006 (Read more)